# 1997 J.League

The 1997 J.League season was the fifth season of the J.League. The league began in April 12 and ended in December 13. For this year, the league was contested by 17 teams. Kashima Antlers won the 1st stage and Júbilo Iwata won the 2nd stage. Júbilo won the J.League title after winning both matches in the Suntory Championship.

## Clubs

The following seventeen clubs participated in J.League during the 1997 season. Of these clubs, Vissel Kobe was the only newly promoted team from Japan Football League.
* Avispa Fukuoka
* Bellmare Hiratsuka
* Cerezo Osaka
* Gamba Osaka
* JEF United Ichihara
* Júbilo Iwata
* Kashima Antlers
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Kyoto Purple Sanga
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Verdy Kawasaki
* Vissel Kobe
* Yokohama Flügels
* Yokohama Marinos

### Personnel

| Club | Head coach |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Carlos Pachamé |
| Bellmare Hiratsuka | Shigeharu Ueki |
| Cerezo Osaka | Levir Culpi |
| Gamba Osaka | Josip Kuže |
| JEF United Ichihara | Jan Versleijen |
| Júbilo Iwata | Takashi Kuwahara |
| Kashima Antlers | João Carlos |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Nicanor de Carvalho |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | Pedro Rocha |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Carlos Queiroz |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Eddie Thomson |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Osvaldo Ardiles |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Horst Köppel |
| Verdy Kawasaki | Valdir Espinosa |
| Vissel Kobe | Stuart Baxter |
| Yokohama Flügels | Otacílio Gonçalves |
| Yokohama Marinos | Xabier Azkargorta |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Non-visa foreign | Former players |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Julio Hernán Rossi | Sergio Vázquez | Michael Obiku | Pablo Maqueda | | | Marcelo Carracedo Rodrigo Riep |
| Bellmare Hiratsuka | Cláudio | Simão | Hong Myung-bo | | | | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Alex Lopes | Claudinho | Gilmar | Jean Elias | Ko Jeong-woon | | Sérgio Manoel |
| Gamba Osaka | Patrick Mboma | Nebojša Krupniković | Boban Babunski | Amir Karić | | | Mladen Mladenović |
| JEF United Ichihara | Nenad Maslovar | Arnold Scholten | Peter Bosz | | | | Rade Bogdanović |
| Júbilo Iwata | Adilson Batista | Alessandro Cambalhota | Dunga | | | | Marcelo Mabilia Salvatore Schillaci |
| Kashima Antlers | Bismarck | Jorginho | Mazinho | Rodrigo Mendes | | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Edílson | Elpídio Silva | Paulo Jamelli | Valdir | | | Antônio Carlos Zago |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | Capone | Daniel | Luiz Carlos | Mineiro | | | Cléber Arado Edmílson Matias |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Alexandre Torres | Ricardinho | Valdo | Dragan Stojković | | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Graham Arnold | Tony Popovic | Antônio Carlos Santos | Ian Crook | Noh Jung-yoon | | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Fernando Oliva | Santos | | | | Alex | Mark Bowen |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Željko Petrović | Basile Boli | Guido Buchwald | Alfred Nijhuis | Txiki Begiristain | | Michael Baur |
| Verdy Kawasaki | Alcindo | Argel Fuchs | Dias | Magrão | | Ko Ishikawa | |
| Vissel Kobe | Matthew Bingley | Budimir Vujačić | Lee Baxter | | | Michael Yano Cho Kwi-jae | Michael Laudrup Thomas Bickel Ziad Tlemçani |
| Yokohama Flügels | César Sampaio | Fernando | Marcelo | Válber | Cyrille Ndongo-Keller | | Zinho |
| Yokohama Marinos | Julio César Baldivieso | Dušan Petković | Julio Salinas | | | | |

## Standings
### First stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 15 | +17 | 37 |
| 2 | Yokohama Flügels | 16 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 35 |
| 3 | Kashiwa Reysol | 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 18 | +16 | 32 |
| 4 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 20 | +5 | 28 |
| 5 | Yokohama Marinos | 16 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 28 |
| 6 | Júbilo Iwata | 16 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 26 |
| 7 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 16 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 25 |
| 8 | Gamba Osaka | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 24 |
| 9 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 21 |
| 10 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 |
| 11 | Cerezo Osaka | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 19 |
| 12 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 18 |
| 13 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 18 |
| 14 | Vissel Kobe | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 17 |
| 15 | JEF United Ichihara | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 21 | 34 | −13 | 13 |
| 16 | Verdy Kawasaki | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 27 | −11 | 10 |
| 17 | Avispa Fukuoka | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 27 | −16 | 9 |

### Second stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Júbilo Iwata | 16 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 14 | +26 | 40 |
| 2 | Gamba Osaka | 16 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 34 |
| 3 | Yokohama Marinos | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 32 |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 16 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 31 |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 30 |
| 6 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 29 |
| 7 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 16 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 26 |
| 8 | Cerezo Osaka | 16 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 24 |
| 9 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 21 |
| 10 | Kashiwa Reysol | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 20 |
| 11 | Yokohama Flügels | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 18 |
| 12 | Verdy Kawasaki | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 22 | 38 | −16 | 16 |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 15 |
| 14 | JEF United Ichihara | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 15 |
| 15 | Avispa Fukuoka | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 31 | −13 | 10 |
| 16 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 9 |
| 17 | Vissel Kobe | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 19 | 44 | −25 | 7 |

#### Key

* PLD = Games Played
* W = Games Won - 3 points for a win
* OTW = Games won in overtime - 2 points for overtime win
* PKW = Games won by penalty kicks after overtime played - 1 point for a win
* OTL = Games lost in overtime - zero points for overtime loss
* PKL = Games lost by penalty kicks after overtime played - zero points for a penalty loss
* GF = Goals scored for
* GA = Goals conceded
* GD = Goal difference - GF - GA = GD

### Suntory Championship
## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Patrick Mboma | Gamba Osaka | 25 |
| 2 | Edílson | Kashiwa Reysol | 23 |
| 3 | Mazinho | Kashima Antlers | 22 |
| 3 | Akihiro Nagashima | Vissel Kobe | 22 |
| 5 | Masahiro Fukuda | Urawa Red Diamonds | 21 |
| 5 | Julio Salinas | Yokohama Marinos | 21 |
| 7 | Válber | Yokohama Flügels | 20 |
| 8 | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | 18 |
| 8 | Wagner Lopes | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 18 |
| 10 | Paulo Jamelli | Kashiwa Reysol | 14 |

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Award | Recipient | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Dunga | Júbilo Iwata |
| Rookie of the Year | Atsushi Yanagisawa | Kashima Antlers |
| Manager of the Year | João Carlos | Kashima Antlers |
| Top Scorer | Patrick Mboma | Gamba Osaka |

### Best Eleven

| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Tomoaki Ogami | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| DF | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | Japan |
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Yutaka Akita | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Bismarck | Kashima Antlers | Brazil |
| MF | Dunga | Júbilo Iwata | Brazil |
| MF | Hidetoshi Nakata | Bellmare Hiratsuka | Japan |
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Motohiro Yamaguchi | Yokohama Flügels | Japan |
| FW | Patrick Mboma | Gamba Osaka | Cameroon |
| FW | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |